By Camila DeChalus, Ellis Kim, CNN

(CNN) — The GOP-controlled House passed a bill that would block Medicaid funds from being used for gender identity care to minors.

The measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, passed by a vote of 215 to 201 with four Democrats voting in favor.

It’s the second bill passed by the House in as many days aimed at restricting access to transgender care for minors. It is unclear if either bill will be taken up by the GOP-led Senate and neither is likely to garner sufficient support from Democrats to succeed in that chamber. But the move by House Republicans to advance the measures stands as a statement of the party’s priorities ahead of a critical midterm election year.

On Wednesday, the House passed a bill that would criminalize transgender care for minors. Under the bill, which was sponsored by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, doctors who provide gender identity care to minors could face up to 10 years in prison.

Advocacy groups like the ACLU have strongly criticized the measures saying that if they are signed into law, it could have a devastating impact on transgender youth.

Passage of the bill also comes after the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday morning that it would take more measures to end transgender care for minors.

“The American people deserve accountability in how their taxpayer dollars are spent,” Crenshaw said in a statement after introducing the bill in January. “Using Medicaid funds for unproven and irreversible procedures on minors is not only medically irresponsible but also a betrayal of public trust.”

Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride on Wednesday criticized congressional Republicans as being “obsessed with trans people” ahead of the votes.

“I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people,” said McBride, who is the first out transgender member of Congress.

McBride said that Republicans were “trying to politicize a misunderstood community and misunderstood care.”

“No one’s healthcare should be politicized,” she said

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - There are two things unusual about the cruise ship AIDAdiva off of Santa Barbara's Stearns Wharf: Cruise ships do not regularly stop in Santa Barbara in December and this one comes with a special health clearance.

Recently there were 90 cases of the Norovirus – known for causing diarrhea and vomiting. The report from the Centers for Disease Control came out earlier this month. The outbreak was first reported on November 30th on the ship.

Since then, officials say the ship implemented enhanced cleaning, disinfection procedures, and isolation measures.

The vessel has been cleaned and cleared by health officials as safe. It has 2,007 passengers and a crew of 645.

Local waterfront officials and the Santa Barbara County Health Department have reviewed the health concerns and the passengers were allowed on shore.

The AIDAdiva dropped anchor at 7 a.m. and will depart today at 5 p.m.

It previously stopped in Los Angeles and San Diego. Prior to that it was in ports in Mexico and Costa Rica and came through the Panama Canal.

The overall trip is 133 days. It began last month in Hamburg, Germany. It will visit 54 destinations and 27 countries and conclude in March of 2026.

The city of Santa Barbara has a total of 11 cruise ship visits on the 2025 schedule.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)

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PISMO BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) - For a second straight year, a low number of monarch butterflies have been counted at the popular Pismo State Beach Butterfly Grove.

"Unfortunately, we're looking at another low year for our populations for this western monarch butterfly," said Danielle Bronson, Pismo State Beach Interpretive and Cultural Program Manager. "We had the most recent count was yesterday, and that was a 400. Our peak count for this season was around 480. It's another low year."

While the butterfly count remains at a low number for a second consecutive year, Bronson pointed out it is better than was seen five years ago in 2020.

"It is not our lowest year," said Bronson. "During Covid, that was our lowest year when we had just shy of 200, but we are seeing these low numbers, not just here at Pismo State Beach, but throughout the entire Western monarch population counts that are done by Xerces Society."

Following the record low in 2020, the monarch population bounced back in a big way the the next three years with 21,000 monarchs recorded in 2021, 24,000 in 2022, and 16,000 in 2023.

"Having that fluctuation is not uncommon with insects," said Bronson. "We're just seeing traditional low population numbers when we are tracking them and we really want to see those numbers increase, so running yourself with education, planting native nectarine flowers is wonderful way for the public to help out at home. You can go on to the websites of Xerces Society or Monarch Joint Health. Those are organizations that can provide the public with different educational opportunities on how they can help the species."

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - Thinking ahead to next month, the Santa Maria Rotary Club is spreading the word about the next forum raising awareness of human trafficking happening locally.

Members of the 12-year-running Human Trafficking Task Force say that while the forum is a ways away, the issue itself is ever-present.

A survivor of human trafficking, Alia Azariah who now works as the Safe House Project’s aftercare director, says the northern part of Santa Barbara county including the Santa Maria Valley is significantly impacted by human trafficking.

Azariah says online trafficking activities saw a sharp increase during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained high, since kids had no choice but to seek connection via social media.

Data for Santa Barbara County shows nearly 300 human trafficking investigations overall in the last decade.

Organizers hope to continue increasing the turnout for the annual awareness and training forum, and the community is urged to mark their calendars for late January.

Azariah says that January may be Human Trafficking Awareness Month, but it’s good to treat every month the same way.

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Simranjit Singh Sekhon of Bakersfield has been charged with the rape of an unconscious woman he was driving home while working as an Uber driver.

Sekhon is also facing the aggravating factor that the survivor was particularly vulnerable and he made his first court appearance Wednesday where he pled not guilty stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

On Nov. 27, around 1 a.m., Sekhon picked up a 21-year-old woman outside a bar in Thousand Oaks while working as an Uber driver with the destination of the woman's home in Camarillo shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The woman was intoxicated and fell asleep during the ride noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, after the trip should have ended, Sekhon continued to drive the unconscious woman around Camarillo and sexually assaulted her.

Following an investigation into the allegations by the Sheriff's Office, Sekhon was arrested in Los Angeles County on Dec. 15 added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Sekhon is next scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Dec. 29, 2025, for an early disposition conference and he remains in custody with bail set at $500,000 detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

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